New York Citys Proposed No After-Hours Email Law

[brooklynite]

Slate:

A recently proposed law in New York City has the potential to change the way residents work—or more accurately, the way they don’t. City Councilman Rafael Espinal Jr. introduced a bill that would make it illegal for businesses with at least ten employees to require that their staff check or respond to emails, phone calls, or any other work-related communication after-hours. The law would be the first in the country to enshrine work-life balance into the legal code, and, while it wouldn’t bar employers from sending after-hours messages, it would leave the choice to respond up to employees. “Because of technology, it’s become very easy for people to be pushed to do their jobs 24 hours a day,” Espinal said in an interview with USA Today, “and employees should have the right without fear of retribution to draw a clear line as to whether they want to work during their personal time.”

Similar to a 2017 French law requiring companies with over 50 employees to set guidelines on how to deal with after-hours communications, the proposal is a step in the right direction for everyone who feels pressured to check Slack or email while cooking dinner. Under the proposed law, employees who feel they’re being retaliated against for refusing to work after-hours would be able to file a complaint with the city. If found in violation of the law, employers could face stiff penalties ranging from a $250 fine to having to pay out full compensation plus $2,500 to a worker who was fired as a result. Certain industry sectors would be exempt from the law, including government employees, on-call staff like doctors and nurses, and companies with overseas business that requires employees to work at odd hours. While there’s no doubt that the intent behind the law is a good one, the fact that one of the exemptions allows any company to define a situation that must be dealt with “immediately” raises some questions regarding the effectiveness of a blanket bureaucratic fix to the problem of never-ending work.

I won't be lying awake nights waiting for this to happen (unless I'm checking my email)

[MyOwnPeace]

1. Anybody catch that one item:

"Certain industry sectors would be exempt from the law, including government employees........"

So, the "government" is about to pass a law that applies to many, but excludes themselves!

Why is that?

What happened to "What's good for the goose................................"